Video Coursework

For my main coursework project I have decided to do a video in the genre of Horror. I have chosen this because I have many ideas for this project already and feel that it would be a very challenging thing to do.

Evaluation for Preliminary Task 2- Video

How does the media product use, develop and challenge form and conventions of real media products?

My media product used many forms fr4om real media products like the 180 degree rule and match on action. I feel that I did these quite well in my final product. When the first character enters the room the door is open the same amount from when being filmed inside the room and outside. Other conventions include the genre being drama. The characters tragic tale of alcohol problems is very upsetting due to the sad stories he tells of his family. As the setting was in an room where there is a meeting occurring between an alcoholic and a councilor there are certain props in the background such as hot beverages and biscuits. These can be quite common in meetings/interviews to make it less formal. Another icon that was used was the leaflet about the clinic that was recommended.

Did the media product represent particular social groups?

Yes, the particular social group that was represented was teenagers. There has been many cases in the press of underage drinking by 'anti social yobs' in communities. However this media product shows that the teenagers occassionally have reasons for the drinking.

What media institution might distribute your media product and why?

In my opinion the most idea media institution would be the BBC. The purpose of the BBC is 'to enrich people's lives with programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain.' As the purpose of my media product was to inform and educate the audience that teenagers do not always underage drink for pure fun. Occassionally there are unfortunate events which can trigger such things.

Who are the audience, and how did you address them?

The main audience types that my media product is for are the traditionalists, so that although they want to keep everything the same, they are shown what is happening elsewhere. Also achievers as the main character in my video wished to improve his life and stop drinking. Hedonists could also be involved as their lives consist of playing and enjoying life now. Drinking alcohol could be what teenagers believe to be enjoying life now. There is not a particular gender that the product is aimed at however there are two age catogories; Teens and 27-40 year olds. The reason for the audience being teenagers are because they wish to get an understanding for why some people drink. The rasons for the older age range are becuase these can be the ages of people who are criticising the teenagers for drinking.

I addressed the audience by using the correct actors and giving them the correct script. They were very co -operative and they both have known people who have drunk when underage. These experiences allowed them to add slight essenses of experience and knowledge behind the script- this hopefully comes accross; the actors know the topic they are discussing.

What have you learnt about process of constructing this product?

There are two main things that I have learnt throughout this preliminary task.
1) How to use the video recorders
2) How to use the editing software.

I felt that I have now had a wide range of experience in this type of media work, and now feel that I would be able to use this experience in my future projects.

Video

This was our final product:

Day Two of Editing

The second day of editing we got quite far in the editing process and managed to edit all of it. We also included special effects such as adding writing in parts and also fades in and out of the writing.
Today I learnt...
How to add the special effects. We did this quite well and the text chosen went well the the content.

Day One of Editing

As we had collected all of our filming, we could then begin editing together what we had recorded. This was quite easy to start with due to us already learning how to use the editing suites. We spent the whole lesson capturing all of the filming that we needed. Due to the lesson going quite quickly we were only able to cut and blend a few of the clips.

Day Three of Filming

On day three of filming we filmed the main conversation between our two characters. This day we did quite a lot of filming. Luckily this went quite smoothly as the actors were very co-operative.
Today I leant...
How to put match on action and the 180 degree rule into action and in my video task.

Day Two of Filming

On the second day of filming we used what we had already filmed and started to get an understanding for the editing software. As all we had filmed was walking through a door we used this to look at match on action. This was successfully done and I enjoyed learning it.
Today I learnt...
How to use the editing software, and how to produce match on action.

Day One Of Filming

On the first day of filming we filmed our one actor walking through the door. Due to room change we then had to delete this and re-film it. However we used tracking of his feet and also a match on action of him walking through the door.

Today I learnt...

How to use the video recorders. It was the first day that I had ever used a video recorder and tripod. Luckily my partner had used the equipment before, therefore he was able to teach me.

Preparation

Before we began our video production we needed to do several planning stages to make sure we knew what to do. Firstly we needed to make sure we had a room to film in. However the room we had chosen was our media studies classroom; this became a problem as certain groups were unable to leave the room. To solve this problem we decided to move room. A story board was also produced, showing the shots that we wanted to film. We also wrote a brief script about the subject type; Alcohol.

Preliminary Task 2- Video Production!

We have now started our second task; video production, and during the first lesson we learnt how to use the video cameras and tripods. We also learnt about two things needed for excellent editing; 180 degree rule and match on action

180 Degree Rule
180 degree rule is when you have an imaginary line between the characters. The two characters must never appear in the same half of the frame. Each time the camera cuts they must remain in their own half of the frame, otherwise their eye levels will not match, and the audience may be confused as to how many people are in the scene.

Match On Action
Match on action is when there are a series of shots, from different angles that are edited together and still have fluency. This can only be achieved when teh distances between things are kept the same between shots.

Evaluation

In conclusion, I believe that my front cover and contents page for my magazine went well. I am very pleased with the finishing product, as it has similar characteristics of popular magazines, with clear colour schemes throughout, yet is unique with its own special features; the unusual title and the college moto blended into the background. Without a doubt the target audience for our magazine are pupils at the college, however we have tried to make our magazine global; calling it 'At the...' This is so we are able to expand on the title to adjust to different college's/schools so that we have a wider audience base.

The software and technology that i have used for the production of my magazine cover include the digital cameras and the computer software such as, photoshop cs2 and QuarkXpress, in my opinion reached my expectancy. The cameras worked really well, and i managed to take good photos which were nice to edit. Then each piece of software i used contained tools which allowed me to make my project just as i wanted it.

I really enjoyed making my magazine cover and contents page. Josh was also really easy to work with; we worked well together.

Our Contents Page

We then took another photo of outside the college. This was the photo we wanted as our background to our contents page. This did not need editing on photoshop, yet we put it onto QuarkXpress and added font boxes and a title: 'Contents'.

QuarkXpress

QuarkXpress is a very unusual piece of software, and as I had never used it before, this lesson I managed to learn how to use it. This ten enabled us to put our photo onto the template, where we then added text.

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This is now our final piece!

Photo Taken

In this lesson, Josh and I went outside and took a few photos which we considered using for our magasine cover. We chose one of Josh and then we edited it on Adobe Photoshop CS2. Josh was away the lesson before, so in this lesson I produced a few design ideas.

Cover Analysis

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This magazine has lots of pictures, and a good use of colour. The images are very appealing and as there is very little text, that is how the colour and pictures have drawn the reader in. However this magazine is not a student ‘mag’. The New York Times have made this for college students to give them as insight into what student life is like. The main picture is a pin board, which is superior as this may be used by a student to keep notes or their work on.

Good points of this magazine cover are: colour, bold fonts, and the use of a collage. However the bad points are that: the writing is quite small, there are not many photos of students and it is somewhat busy.








We really liked this one because of the main picture and the background. The main picture is a medium close up which allows you to still see the expression on the persons face; in high spirits and willing you to join. The font on this magazine cover is larger and there are bullet points which make it easier to read, and more likely for students to read rather than big paragraphs of text.

Good points: bold font, big photo of American football player (someone for the students to be inspired by) and easily readable bullet points. Yet bad points include: somewhat boring, and fairly simple.







In Conclusion; From these two magazine covers we really liked the use of bold titles and a variety of bright colours. We didn’t like the blocks of text in the one above yet we did think the bullet points were a good idea. These things we will try to include in ours.



This magazine is very well design; yet this is expected as it is a design and creative culture magazine. Although there have only been three colours used these colours have been used to good affect. The heart seems to represent a love for the subject and the glass could symbolise the glass is half full or half empty and this subject could fill it. The masthead and the sub titles are in bold font, which makes them easier to read; however there are bullet points but there doesn’t seem to be enough information about the magazine.

Good points: The picture, use of colour, bold font and interesting design. Bad points are: lack of information through text.






This magazine cover is quite confusing as there are many varied messages they are trying to send. The background is also quite boring and there is a lack of colour. The information on the cover does not tell you what is inside the magazine, therefore is not appealing to the preferred audience. We assume that the use of the three girls are to try and attract a male audience, however it may be to attract girls, as they seem quite friendly, and dressed in white (pure).

Good points: the change in masthead font and bad points are: it is boring, colourless, lack of information and no appealing picture.



In Conclusion; These two magazine covers have shown us that the main photo or picture is very important and must be appealing. Also the colours are very important; yet it must not be fussy.
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Editing Photos

During the lesson on the 24th of September, we were taught how to edit images using 'Adobe Photoshop'. We learnt how to remove objects from the backgroud and also how to edit colours, such as eye colour and remove blemishes. We used these techniques by taking a photograph off google of a woman, then we changed the colour of her eyes and rotted one of her teeth. This was an eye opening lesson as although I have 'Adobe Photoshop ' at home, I never quite understood how to use it. Now I do! These skills I have now learnt I will be able to apply to my final photo for my cover.

Why Study Media Studies?

I picked media studies to do at a level, as i have an interest in television. As a career i would like to be a presenter. With presenting being on television, i felt it was necessary for me to be studying it. I am hoping to get out of media studies, an insight into what happens behind the screen; and all of the details which i will hopefully be using in the future.